Daily Archives: December 10, 2012

Buffalo running back C.J. Spiller and his head coach, Chan Gailey, “cleared the air” Monday afternoon regarding comments about his dearth of carries that each had made after the Bills’ loss to the St. Louis Rams a day earlier.

So said Spiller in an interview with me on Monday night, at a private contest winners’ event in downtown Toronto (my photo, right). The Bills play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at the Rogers Centre.

Since Week 1, Spiller has led the NFL in both yards-per-carry (6.6) and surprise over lack of carries.

In only his third NFL season, Spiller has shown he’s clearly among the elite running backs in the game. He’s blazing fast, elusive, has shifty feet, isn’t afraid to run between the tackles and, as a result, is a threat to break a big gainer on almost every touch.

He just doesn’t get many touches. And it’s killing Bills fans as much as it’s befuddling observers around the league.

In his latest post-loss attempt to explain it, Gailey said in part on Sunday, “He had two good runs in that drive, he gets winded and he comes out.”

The unintended implication? Spiller needs breathers a lot.

That isn’t true, of course. But out he comes, for long stretches. Often.

By our unofficial observation, Spiller wasn’t on the field for a single snap on Buffalo’s two first-half possessions in the red zone against St. Louis – a season-long trend.

Spiller was clearly frustrated after Sunday’s game, and he said as much, but did his best to protect his head coach:

“I really cannot control how many times I touch the ball, guys. I keep saying it over and over. I do not know what else you want me to say. The only thing I can do is when my number’s called, just try to do the best I can.

“Of course I want to touch the ball more.”

On Monday, Spiller told reporters in Buffalo that his intention was to have a sit-down later in the day with Gailey.

On Monday night, he told me that that’s exactly what transpired.

“I cleared the air. I had a great conversation with coach Gailey,” Spiller said. “(It is) very confidential between me and him.

“It went well. I wanted to understand what he meant by his comments, and he understood what I meant. I think we’re straight on those now.”

At least he is. To me, it’s still incredible that Spiller doesn’t touch the ball more. A lot more.

He will now, by necessity.

Fred Jackson, the Bills’ other standout running back, suffered a season-ending Grade 2 right knee sprain against the Rams, according to Jackson’s agent, as reported by Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.

But up to now, Gailey had been rationing Spiller’s carries like castaways do swigs from their last canteen.

Some 24 NFL running backs have rushed the ball more times than Spiller has this season. Only nine have gained more yards.

What’s more, only Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson has more gains of 20+ yards (18) than Spiller’s 11. To put that into perspective, Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin is the only other running back with more than seven (with eight).

And Spiller leads all backs – including AP – in most frequent gains of 20+ yards; he has one every 13.1 carries. So, of course, Spiller averages only 11.1 carries per game.

Say it together, Bills fans: (rhymes with hut-the-duck).

At his own Monday news conference, Gailey explained that the team’s plan for the season was to more or less split the carries between their two “great” backs – Spiller and Jackson, the nominal starter the past few seasons.

No one had a problem with that in August. By October it had become clear that Spiller’s rare talents were in full blossom and he’d earned the majority of snaps.

Whether Jackson had been sidelined or not, the Spiller spilling point might well have occurred on Sunday, when he was granted only eight touches – seven rushes (for 37 yards) and one catch, for 15.

That boggled everybody’s mind. Except Gailey’s.

—

Q&A WITH C.J.:

I asked Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller on Monday night to address possible reasons he watches so much of each game from the sidelines. His answers:

IS HIS PASS-BLOCKING SUB-STANDARD?

“No. Generally, I’m fine. I thought my biggest improvement coming into this season was my pass protection. Fred (Jackson), he’s been around a lot longer though.”

IS HE NOT PART OF MANY RED-ZONE PACKAGES?:

“No that’s not it. It’s pretty much a trust factor. We definitely want to get me out there on the field as much as I can. It just comes down to a choice factor for the coach, and what he feels is best (in the red zone).”

IS THE SHOULDER HE HURT IN WEEK 3 STILL AILING?:

“No, I’ve had no issues probably since the Arizona game … Ever since then the shoulder’s been great. That’s why I’ve been able to play with more confidence now than when I had the shoulder injury, because I didn’t know how much it would hold up if I took a hit. But now I’ve been taking clean shots on it, and it’s fine.”

DOES HE FEEL HE GETS STRONGER AS A GAME GOES ON?:

“Yes. Defences at first are going to get you some. That’s when the adrenaline is flowing, the emotion is flowing. But as the game goes on, those three and four yards you were getting earlier can possibly turn into 30 yards. So that’s the main thing that I try to do is just stay focused and not get frustrated if I get tackled for those itty-bitty yards. I know it’s a long game, and eventually they’ll come.”